Well... [Relic Q&A]

Tough morning...we've been reading your comments for the past five hours or so and collecting our thoughts to share.

We know you're disappointed and we are too. This hasn’t been an easy decision to make but it's one we take responsibility for within the studio. We would like to thank all the members of this community for their feedback and support, and extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who stuck with us.

To be very clear, the servers will remain up so those of you who are still enjoying Dawn of War III can continue to wage war. We still have some options on the table for free cosmetic DLC (including a set next week), but we know now that we won't be able to hit your bigger expectations.

Bear with us today. We'll be popping back in this thread to answer questions where we're able to share more.
Ben

Comments

But I guess RELIC is dead, there is no recovering from this in a vacuum state. You have no buffer, this is like getting smashed in the head with a concrete block. Had this been announced after an Age of Empires 4 gameplay release then it might have been salvageable.

I do not blame the developers in the studio, I blame whatever dumb cuck SEGA put in charge of the studio.

I'm sorry to see you guys go, you made great games. But The only thing I can request is a Mk III armor set for space marines.

EDIT - If there is a chance that you can convince the dullards of something, tell them to move into the 8th edition. Tell them we will buy, and with an install base of 500k it shouldn't be too difficult.

Imperial Guard, Chaos, Nids, Necrons, whatever you guys can give, we will buy. But Only if there's a chance.

Good morning, Ben. I don't envy you the day you have ahead of you, but I am glad to see an official response. Unfortunate that this day started so early for you.

I have two questions. When was this decision made, and did it come as something of a shock?

Second: to me it seems the one thing that would have the biggest impact on the state of the game would be a more expansive modding toolset (allowing custom UCS, custom model import etc). Is there any likelihood we will see something like this? Mods have been the lifeblood keeping the preceding games in the franchise alive.

Well I guess we will get only mere skins. Pity, I expected more gameplay content in February.

Though, while it is sad that you give up on making a expansion, I must really thank you for making Dow3 and post - release content. Even without a expansion, I will continue to play it, albeit less. I understand that it was tough decision due to its bad reception and it is sad, because despite that I really wanted at least a single new race. But oh well.

Anyways thank you for giving me a not the greatest, but still good game, and I wish you good luck with AoE4 and other projects. You will definitely need it. Until next DOW game if there ever will be, Relic!

Tough morning...we've been reading your comments for the past five hours or so and collecting our thoughts to share.

We know you're disappointed and we are too. This hasn’t been an easy decision to make but it's one we take responsibility for within the studio. We would like to thank all the members of this community for their feedback and support, and extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who stuck with us.

To be very clear, the servers will remain up so those of you who are still enjoying Dawn of War III can continue to wage war. We still have some options on the table for free cosmetic DLC (including a set next week), but we know now that we won't be able to hit your bigger expectations.

Bear with us today. We'll be popping back in this thread to answer questions where we're able to share more.
Ben

I almost forgot, @r_benb , if you were going to make Dow4 in future, if ever will be, I would like to have improved Elite Unit system with large scale of battles. And maybe with Annihilation on launch. These are what I enjoyed in Dow3.

@Lockerd said:
there isn't going to be an AoE4. This is a suicide note. There's no coming back from this.

Where does that even come from? If you want an example of a studio laying an egg, abandoning their game within a year and then announcing a new title to much fanfare, look at Tindalos and Battlefleet Gothic: Armada.

@Jazz_Sandwich said:
Good morning, Ben. I don't envy you the day you have ahead of you, but I am glad to see an official response. Unfortunate that this day started so early for you.

I have two questions. When was this decision made, and did it come as something of a shock?

Second: to me it seems the one thing that would have the biggest impact on the state of the game would be a more expansive modding toolset (allowing custom UCS, custom model import etc). Is there any likelihood we will see something like this? Mods have been the lifeblood keeping the preceding games in the franchise alive.

Hey Jazz,

I can't overstate the number of conversations we've had about DOW as a studio and the number of scenarios that were considered pretty openly. So, I wouldn't say it's come as a shock to us.

The mod toolset will stay as it is. There's always a chance of returning to it in the future but there's nothing in the works for that today.

This probably hurts as much for you as it does for us. I was really looking forward to waht DoW3 could become but i guess we will never have the chance to find out what the games potential was. But cant say i am suprised.

@Lockerd said:
there isn't going to be an AoE4. This is a suicide note. There's no coming back from this.

Where does that even come from? If you want an example of a studio laying an egg, abandoning their game within a year and then announcing a new title to much fanfare, look at Tindalos and Battlefleet Gothic: Armada.

A good AoE 4 could save Relic.

problem is, they announced AoE4 LONG before they announced an abandonment of DoW3.

More to that, the only reason it could possibly sell, is if Dawn of War 3 had a modicum of success. The way they announced this abandonment has already sent the message that they aren't able to do what they need to do in order to make something work.

Add onto that the entire hate train focus that was on DoW3 now being shifted directly onto Age of Empires 4. With a lack of confidence in the studio, it's not going to live much longer. If it was AFTER an event such as MLNW or something further down the line, then it could have been handled well. but no, it was released in a vacuum, to stand alone and exposed, to fester and grow.

BEN, thanks for your answer! Please go convince your managers to make a last try, an electroshock on the game which have an amazing potential, you can trust us! Tell them to release a race like Chaos, Tyranids or Necrons! Those races have true lovers and i'm sure it will boost the players number target ! If it doesn't work, ok you will can say that there is few chances that the game comes back, and i will recommand to build a new dow - not a moba this time. But it would be silly to not make a last try considering all the great work, time, energy and money you have invested in the game !! Let's go man, give us a new race !!

@AstartesUltra said:
BEN, thanks for your answer! Please go convince your managers to make a last try, an electroshock on the game which have an amazing potential, you can trust us! Tell them to release a race like Chaos, Tyranids or Necrons! Those races have true lovers and i'm sure it will boost the players number target ! If it doesn't work, ok you will can say that there is few chances that the game comes back, and i will recommand to build a new dow - not a moba this time. But it would be silly to not make a last try considering all the great work, time, energy and money you have invested in the game !! Let's go man, give us a new race !!

I kind of agree. I'm not surprised the game didnt succeed. But I am surprised Relic didn't attempt one paid DLC to test the water.

@Jazz_Sandwich said:
Good morning, Ben. I don't envy you the day you have ahead of you, but I am glad to see an official response. Unfortunate that this day started so early for you.

I have two questions. When was this decision made, and did it come as something of a shock?

Second: to me it seems the one thing that would have the biggest impact on the state of the game would be a more expansive modding toolset (allowing custom UCS, custom model import etc). Is there any likelihood we will see something like this? Mods have been the lifeblood keeping the preceding games in the franchise alive.

Hey Jazz,

I can't overstate the number of conversations we've had about DOW as a studio and the number of scenarios that were considered pretty openly. So, I wouldn't say it's come as a shock to us.

The mod toolset will stay as it is. There's always a chance of returning to it in the future but there's nothing in the works for that today.

Thank you for the honest reply, Ben, I appreciate your candour.

That satisfies my curiosity. I wish you the best of luck with the studio's future projects. This is goodbye for me, at least for now. Slán is beannachtaí.

@AstartesUltra said:
BEN, thanks for your answer! Please go convince your managers to make a last try, an electroshock on the game which have an amazing potential, you can trust us! Tell them to release a race like Chaos, Tyranids or Necrons! Those races have true lovers and i'm sure it will boost the players number target ! If it doesn't work, ok you will can say that there is few chances that the game comes back, and i will recommand to build a new dow - not a moba this time. But it would be silly to not make a last try considering all the great work, time, energy and money you have invested in the game !! Let's go man, give us a new race !!

I have DoW1. He said that if DoWIII sells in low price and more content and new races such as necron because necron was his favourite race, he would buy it as the game looks interesting to play but sadly it has to be buried now.

I am really disappointed by this announcement. Despite all the criticism, as far as I'm concerned, I like this game. And I was very excited about its future. Ok, it's good that a new AOE is coming up, but the WH40k universe is really unique. And I think only Relic studios could adapt a RTS to this universe.